


Friends and Other Lovers

by debirlfan



Category: Boston Legal
Genre: M/M, Yuletide 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 09:17:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8885332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/debirlfan/pseuds/debirlfan
Summary: Denny and Alan change the parameters of their relationship.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scifishipper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifishipper/gifts).



New England winters were seldom warm, but even for Boston, the preceding week had been a particularly nasty stretch of weather. The chill temperatures, gusty wind and occasional snow had made Alan almost grateful that he and Denny were no longer welcome on the Chang, Poole and Schmidt balcony. Ultimately, it had even driven them off of Denny's deck. Instead, their nightly musings had moved inside to the den, to heavy leather chairs that fronted the massive fireplace.

Alan rued the lack of his usual cigar. Denny didn't smoke in the house, so he didn't, either. While Alan knew that if he asked, Denny would undoubtedly acquiesce, it didn't seem quite sporting. After all, Denny enjoyed a good cigar just as much as Alan did.

Scotch, though, that most certainly was allowed. Alan took another sip, before glancing across the table towards his husband. “You're awfully quiet tonight.”

Denny answered with a hunch of his shoulder that might have been a shrug. “Do you realize it's been two months?”

“Since we were canned?” It still stung, even if they were in the process of opening their own firm.

This time it was definitely a shrug. “That too. But I meant, since we were married.”

“Let me guess. You're already bored with me and you want a divorce.” _Alan was joking. Mostly._ Two months was considerably longer than some of Denny's marriages had lasted.

Denny scowled. “Don't be ridiculous. Who else would I share my Scotch with?” He picked up the bottle and leaned across the table to top off Alan's glass.

Alan knew Denny well enough to know that he hadn't just randomly brought up the date. There was a reason why he had mentioned it, although with Denny, it was possible that it would take him another month to come around to the point. _And there was no hurrying the process._ Instead, Alan chose to answer the question he'd been asked. He lifted his glass. “Shirley, perhaps?”

That suggestion was answered by a loud snort. “Not likely. Carl's too possessive to let me near her.”

Alan rolled his eyes. “I couldn't begin to imagine why.”

“He's jealous. And greedy. I'll bet he never shared his toys as a child, either.”

“I have trouble picturing Carl as a child.” _On the other hand, he could definitely see Denny as one. Undoubtedly his first words were his own name.  
_

Another snort, but this one was followed by a long silence. Denny sipped from his glass, then finally broke it. “If someone had told me, I never would have believed that I'd end up married to a man.” He turned his head to look at Alan. “What about you?”

_Ah, so this was what was on Denny's mind._ “I never thought about it, one way or the other.” Not that it would even have been possible until just months before their wedding.

“You've been involved with men before.” It was phrased as a statement, rather than a question.

Alan took a deep swallow of his drink, then reached for the bottle to refill his glass. He had never told Denny about that part of his sexual history, but it didn't surprise him that Denny had guessed. For someone who supposedly had _'Mad Cow'_ , Denny could be entirely too perceptive. “I have,” Alan agreed, “But it was never romantic.”

“What was it, then? The sex?” He seemed truly interested.

“Partly, I suppose.” He wouldn't deny that the sex had been fun, but it hadn't been the main attraction. “Probably more a matter of loneliness and boredom. At the college I attended, the male-female ratio was at least two to one, and the girls usually dated the jocks. For some reason, being captain of the debate team held very little sway with them. It was the first time I'd been away from family and friends. I soon learned that I wasn't very good at being alone.”

“What's it like, with a man?”

Alan was tempted to say that sex was sex, but that wasn't quite true. It was something that he'd never actually considered, but now when he did, he had trouble finding the right words. “It's freeing. Men are inherently sturdier.”

“You're into the rough stuff, then?” Denny eyed him with what might have been suspicion. 

“Not particularly. In any event, that's not what I meant.” With a woman, he always felt that he needed to maintain a measure of control. While they were certainly no fragile flowers, the women that he typically were attracted to were still smaller and lighter than he was, and consciously or not, he handled them with a certain amount of care. “With a man, you don't find yourself worrying about taking your weight on your elbows.”

Denny grunted in acknowledgment, and Alan paused for another sip of Scotch before continuing. “The other thing is...while everyone has their own personal preferences and quirks, men are essentially all built the same. With a woman--especially the first few times you're with one--you have to guess what they'll enjoy. Stumble around in the dark until you get a positive response, and hope that she's not faking just to be done with it. With another man, it's a pretty safe bet that if something feels good to you, then it will also feel good to them. It serves as a starting point, if nothing else.”

“Not so easy for a man to fake it, either.”

“True.”

They were both quiet for a time, watching in companionable silence as logs turned to embers and the fireplace flames began to die down. “The men you were with. You said it was never romantic. Could it be, with a man?” Denny asked, finally.

“I love you, Denny. You know that.” Alan was certain that on some level, Denny loved him back, even if he never actually said the words.

“Could a relationship be both romantic...and physical?”

Caught mid-sip by Denny's words, Alan just barely managed not to choke on his drink. _Was Denny really suggesting what he seemed to be suggesting?_ “Are you proposing--?”

“Yes.” Denny cut him off, answering quickly, as if trying to get the word out before he changed his mind. “The idea of getting a blow job from someone who actually knows what they're doing is...intriguing,” he added.

That was certainly an unexpected turn of events. _But not an unwelcome one_ , Alan admitted to himself. He rose from his chair, determined not to wait until Denny chickened out— _or until he did_. “I must say, it's been a long day. Shall we adjourn to bed?”

Denny grinned, a wry grin, rising to join him. “I thought you'd never ask.”


End file.
